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Battles of Lórien and invasion of eastern Rohan
The Battles of Lórien (never given a proper name in the books) were a set of skirmishes in the north during the War of the Ring: a series of encounters between the Uruks (Orc-folk) of Dol Guldur and Mordor against the Galadhrim of Lothlórien under the Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel, which took place March 11, 15, and 22 of 3019. The battles resulted in victory for the Elves and allowed Celeborn to lead an assault on Dol Guldur, where Galadriel ended the evil influence of Sauron. History The battles It is unknown how the Orc army crossed the River Anduin, though the North Undeep seems the most likely place to ford. Forces from Dol Guldur, reinforced with Orcs from Mordor assaulted Lothlórien three times, assisted at least once in a joint attack from the west by the Orcs of Moria. Though the battles are not described in detail by Tolkien, the fair woods of the borders of Lothlórien suffered grievous harm by fire, though the valour of the Elves prevented the enemy from penetrating too deeply into their forest realm. Thrice the enemy attacked, and the three times the assaults were driven back. The valour of the Elven people that lived in Lórien was great, but Tolkien states that the main reason why Lórien was not conquered was "the power that dwelt there was far too great for any to overcome, save if Sauron had come there himself". Such power was the Lady Galadriel, wearing Nenya, who was able to defeat the Orcs; who then fled south towards into Fangorn Forest. Treebeard and a host of Ents, having already laid ruin to Isengard some days before set out to prevent them entering Rohan. The despairing Orcs fled eastward but were either killed by the tree-shepherds, drowned in the River Anduin or fled to Dol Guldur.The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B: The Tale of Years (Chronology of the Westlands), "The Great Years"The Atlas of Middle-earth, The Lord of the Rings, "Battles in the North" Aftermath Following the battle, Celeborn and Galadriel led the Galadhrim across the Anduin in a fleet of many small elf boats. They entered Mirkwood and attacked Dol Guldur. Then, Galadriel came forth and threw down the walls and cleansed its pits with her power, and ended the grasp of evil in the forest. Dol Guldur was no more. As news of the victory of King Elessar down south reached the Wood-elves, Thranduil (who had recently defeated an army in the Battle of Mirkwood) met with Celeborn on April 6. Mirkwood was divided between Thranduil (who claimed the North), the Beornings (who settled in the middle, the 'Narrows') and Celeborn who added the southern half to his realm, renaming it 'East Lórien'. Despite these victories, the Elves began to dwindle and Celeborn himself departed over the Sea during the early Fourth Age.The Atlas of Middle-earth, The Lord of the Rings, "The Fourth Age" References Category:Battles Category:War of the Ring ru:Осада Лориэна